Litter



July 27, 1937. L. -BjMcAFEE ET AL 2,087,984

l LETER K v Fivled July 2, 1936 v/m/@rzo/rxs Larry B.Mc/7fee Carl ELWsmer.

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UNITEDFSTATES PATENT OFFICE Benjamin McAfee, washington, n'. o.. ma Carl Edmund Wismer, Carlisle, Pa.

Application July 2, 1936, Serial No. 88,586 11 Claims. (Cl. 5`82) (Granted under the act -ol March 3, 1883, as amended April '30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) This invention described herein may be manfolded and stitched at (2) to the main body porufactured and used by or for the Government for tiOn 0f the Covering tDJOrm pkets (.3) for the governmental purposes, without the payment to reCentiOn 0f spaced parallel Side POleS (4) the us of any royalty thereon, Warp threads (5) 0f the covering (I) being This invention relates to utters or stretchers stitched transversely of the body portion thereof for the transportation of sick or injured persons t0 ferm the Dockets S0 that it Will SnPpOrt e and more particularly it is directed to an immaximum Weight. proved collapsible litter for Army use in the field The side poles (l) which are preferably made or hospitalo y of aluminum. are of tubular form and are proone of the' v objeots of this invention is' to' provided with wooden handles (6) at their ends. A 10 vide an improved litter or stretcher of the kind handle (5) 8S illustre/ted in F18- 5, iS Provided having longitudinal eide poles oen-ying a, fabric with a reduced shank (1) extending into the end covering and spreader bars for holding the side 0f a tubular pole (I) and having a. `driving fit poles apart to stretch the fabric covering or for therewith. the Seme being further held in place bringing them together to collapse the same by n CTOSS Din (8) 15 whereby the litter may be stretched open or col- T0 Support the litter beve the ground 0r H001. lapsed so that i-,ne bulk is reduced to e minimum supporting legs (9) are secured to the side poles Another object of this invention ls to provide (l), near their ends, each of said legs comprisa collapsible litter having novel legs and a single ing emetal Casting in the Shape 0f a Stiriup hav'- 0 bolt and nut for clamping the fabric covering ing e 100D Portion (I0) which extends down- 20 between them and the poles, said bolts also serv- Wardly to provide a. ground engaging portion or ing as pivots for the outer ends o! the spreader Wide f00t- The 100D POItiOnS (l0) 0f the Supbars and to secure holding straps in place. porting legs are closed at the top by cross mem- .Other objects and advantages such as the use bers (H) each having a rectangular reCeSS 01' of warp threads on i-,he febrio covering which are slot (I2) on the inside for the accommodation of 25' stitched to form pockets for the side poles end the Outer ends of e pair of spreader bers (I3). saddle seats on the legs for the side poles t'ol prethe Construction and Operation 0f which Wm vent cutting the fabnc covering around the poles, hereinafter appear. The upper faces of the together with novel spreader bars for holding the CI'OSS members (II) 0f the supporting legs are o litter expanded are elsolncluded witnln'the scope curved inwardly or concave to provide e Sub- 3o of the invention. stantially saddle-shaped seat (I4) which conwith the above and other objects lo vlew toforms to the curvature of the side poles so gether with further objects of simplicity, cheapthat they d0 nOt Present Sharp COl'nelS which neSS in manufacture,- compactness and dui-abil.. would otherwise cut the fabric of the pockets (3) ity, the invention consists ln the novel construca'I'Oimd the'P01eS- At the Gente!" 0f the CTOSS 35 tion and arrangement of parts which will heremembers (l l) 0f the Supporting legs are aligned luefter be brought out 1n the following descrlp- Openings (l5) and (It) for the passage of clamption and illustrated in the accompanying drawing` 'bolts (l1)- ing, in Which- The upper surfaces of two of the supporting Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the litter legs at diagonally. opposite corners are provldedl 40 ln an operative position; with diagonal recesses (I8). 'I'hese recesses (I8) Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the litter taken on are provided 't0 aecommedate Straps (I9) having line 2,-2 of Fig. 1; buckles (20) adapted to hold the litter ln a co1- Flg, 3 is an enlarged kversioni sectional detail lapsed or inoperative condition and the diagonal l, view taken on line 3 3 of Fig, 2, with a portion recesses permit the straps to clear the lower ends 45 thereof broken away; of the bolts (I 1) when the straps are buckled Fig. 4 is a perspective detail view of .one of the v around the Polesnovel supporting legs for the litter; and The clamping bolts (I1) are preferably pro- Fig. 5 is a plan view of a wooden handle in one vided with oval-shaped heads (2l) and have of the -side poles, showing theside polein sec- 'Shanks (22) threaded at their lower ends to re- 50 tion to illustrate the mode of securing the handle celve adjusting nuts (23) and lock washers (24). therein. y The bolt (I'I) is illustrated in Fig. 3 as being Referring more specifically to the drawing (I) inserted through the fabric covering (I), side indicates a fabric covering such as heavy canvas pole (Il), a holdingl strap (I9), the opening (I5) in Which the 10ngitl1dnf1 side edges thereof are provided in the cross-member (I I) of the sup- 55 porting leg, through an aperture (25) provided on the outer `end of a spreader bar (I3) and through the opening (I6) below the rectangular slot (I2), where it is secured in place by the nut and washer (23) and (24) respectively, the ovalshaped head (2l) of the bolt (I1) engaging the upper surface of the fabric covering surrounding the side pole. One bolt, in each instance, clamps the parts together to form a unitary structure.

The side poles (4) of the litter are braced and supported in spaced parallel relation when in use by means of the spreader bars (I3) forming lateral supports. The outer ends of the spreader bars (I3) are mounted in the vslots (I 2) provided in the upper ends of the supporting legs (9) and pivotally connected thereto by means of the clamping bolts (Il) and the inner ends of the spreader bars are pivoted together'by pins (26). One spreader bar of each pairA has a yoke-shaped end (2l), which engages the inner edge of the other spreader bar and provides a stop to prevent outward movement of the spreader lbars and permits only inward movement in the direction of the arrows as illustrated in Fig. 1. To prevent the occupant of the litter from coming into contact with the spreader bars, they are curved sc their inner pivotally connected ends are substantially below the plane of their outer pivoted ends and well below the fabric covering, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Assuming the litter stretched open for carrying a patient, as illustrated in Fig. 1, and it is desired to collapse it for transportation or storage, the spreader bars (I 3) are pushed inwardly in the direction of the arrows, thereby causing the side poles (li) to move toward and into contact with each other. The side poles are adapted to be held in this position by wrapping the straps (I il) around the poles at each end, and connecting the free ends of the straps to the buckles (2li) provided thereon. When it is desired to stretch open the litter for carr-ying a patient, the straps around the poles are unbuckled and the spreader bars are pushed toward the opposite ends of the litter to the positions shown inFig. 1. The litter with a patient on it may then be lifted and transported.

It will thus be seen that the novel litter is simple in its design and very rugged in its construction. Even though it is described as comprising certain details of construction, it is nevertheless to be understood that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and Wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A litter comprising in combination, a fabric covering; pockets formed on the fabric covering; a side pole mounted in each of said pockets; pairs of supporting legs near the ends of said poles; collapsible spreader bars between said legs, and' means securing said legs and fabric covering to said side poles and also pivotally connecting the spreader bars to the legs.

2. A litter comprising in combination, a pair of side poles, a fabric covering spanning said poles, pairs of supporting legs near the ends of said poles, collapsible spreader bars between said legs, and means securing said legs and fabric covering to said side poles and also pivotally connecting the spreader bars to the legs;

3. A litter comprising in combination, a fabric covering having-side pockets provided thereon; a pole mounted in each of said pockets; supporting legs for said litter secured adjacent the ends of said side poles; vcollapsible spreader bars between said supporting legs; said supporting legs each being in the form of a. stirrup-shaped frame having a loop portion and a saddle-shaped seat adapted to conform to the curvature of the side poles, whereby said legs may seat the side poles without the edges thereof cutting the fabric covering surrounding the poles, and means securing said legs and fabric covering to said side poles and also pivotally connecting the spreader bars to the legs.

4. A collapsible litter comprising in combination, a fabric covering having longitudinal pockets provided on the lateral side edges thereof;

' a side pole mounted in each of said pockets; supporting legs for, said litter adjacent the ends of said side poles; collapsible spreader bars between said poles; straps for holding said litter collapsed; said supporting legs each being in the form of a stirrup-shaped frame having a loop portion on its lower end and a cross-member containing a saddle-shaped seat on its upper end adapted to seat the side poles on said supporting legs; a diagonal slot formed in certain of said supporting legs across the said'seats adapted to receive said holding straps and means for securing the supporting legs, fabric covering and holding straps to said side poles and, also pivotally connecting the spreader bars to said supporting legs.`

5. A collapsible litter comprising in combination, a fabric covering having longitudinal pockets provided in the lateral edges thereof; a side pole provided in each of said pockets; straps for holding said litter collapsed; supporting legs at the ends of said pockets on said side poles; said supporting legs each being in the form of a stirrup-shaped frame having a loopv portion on its lower end and a cross-member having a longitudinal aperture and a saddle-shaped seat on its upper end; diagonally opposite legs having diagonal recesses to receive said holding straps, and means for holding said side poles in spaced relation to each other, including'a pair of collapsible spreader bars having their inner ends pivotally connected together and their outer ends pivotally legs.

6. A litter comprising in combination, a pair of side poles,a fabric covering spanning said poles, supporting legs for said litter, collapsible means for holding said side poles in spaced relation t each other, said means including a pair ,of spreader bars pivotally connected together at one end, one of said bars of each pair having a yokeshaped portion formed on the inner end thereof adapted to engage an edge of the other bar to hold them in alignment when the litter is stretched open and additional means securing said legs and fabric covering to said side poles and also pivotally connecting the other ends of said spreader bars to the legs.

t '7. A. litter comprising in combination, a pair of side poles, a fabric covering spanning said poles, pairs of supporting legs n ear the ends of said-poles, collapsible spreader bars between Vsaid legs and vertically extending means securing saidand vertically extending means securing said legs and fabric covering to said side poles and also pivotally connecting the spreader bars to the legs, said spreader bars being pivoted about said vertically extending means.

' 9. A litter comprising in combination, a fabric covering having side pockets, supporting legs for said litter secured adjacent the ends of said side poles, collapsible spreader bars between said supporting legs, said supporting legs each being in the form of a stirrup-shaped frame having a loop portion and a saddle-shaped seat adapted to conform to the curvature of the side poles, whereby said legs may seat the side poles Without the edges thereof cutting the fabric covering surrounding the poles and vertically extending means securing said legs and fabric covering to said side poles and also pivotally connecting the spreader bars to the legs, said spreader bars being pivoted about said vertically extending means.

10. A collapsible litter comprising in combination, a fabric covering having longitudinal pockets provided on the lateral side edges thereof, a side pole mounted in each of said pockets, supporting legs for said litter adjacent toI the ends of said side poles, collapsible spreader bars between said poles, straps for holding said litter collapsed; said supporting legs each being in the formA of a stirrup-shaped frame having a loop portion on its lower end and a cross-member containing a saddle-shaped seat on its upper end adapted to seat the side poles on said supporting legs, a diagonal slot formed'in certain of said supporting legs across the said seats adapted to receive said holding straps and vertically extending means for securing the supporting legs, fabric covering and holding straps to said side poles and-also pivotally connecting the spreader bars to said supporting legs, said spreader bars being pivoted' aboutA said vertically extending means.

11. A litter comprising in combination, a pair of side poles, a fabric covering spanning said poles, supporting legs for said litter,l collapsible means for holding said side poles in spaced relation to each other, said means including a pair of spreader bars pivotally connected together at one end, one of said bars of each pair having a yokeshaped portion formed on the inner end thereof adapted to engage an edge of the other bar to hold them in alignment when the litter is stretched open, and vertically extending means securing said legs and fabric covering to said side poles and also pivotally connecting the other ends of said spreader bars to the legs, the said last mentioned ends of said spreader bars being pivoted about said vertically extending means.

' LARRY BENJAMIN MCAFEE'.

CARL EDMUND WISMER. 

